Welfare check by Rockford police officers sparks inquiries

ROCKFORD — Internal and outside investigations are underway involving the actions of several Rockford police officers, including Chief Chet Epperson.

Igniting the firestorm of controversy is a simple welfare check Oct. 30 at the home of Lloyd Johnston Jr., president of the local NAACP chapter.

At issue are allegations of obstructing justice and leaking a police report to the media.

Johnston's ex-wife, Tonya Eboigde, a New York resident, called Rockford police asking for a welfare check on their 24-year-old son, Lloyd Quincy Johnston III, who lives with Johnston and his current wife.

According to a Rockford police report summary, Eboigde told a 911 dispatcher she heard a struggle over the phone while speaking with her son, then the phone went dead.

The dispatcher asked Eboigde for Johnston's phone number and dialed it. The call went to voicemail.

A trio of officers — D'Evyron Boone, Mark Castronovo and Adam Dreger — were dispatched to Johnston's house on Warwick Way. The front door was open but the screen door was closed.

The officers announced their presence a couple of times before Johnston emerged from a rear room.

The officers asked Johnston for permission to come inside. Johnston refused, so Boone said he explained they were there to check on the welfare of his son, Quincy.

Johnston told the officers he did not know whether Quincy was home and asked the officer if Quincy was wanted on a warrant.

Police told Johnston they did not know, telling Johnston again that they were there on the welfare check.

Boone told Johnston he and the other officers were acting as "community caretakers," and they could not leave until they verified that Quincy was OK and would "kick the door in" if necessary.

Johnston told the officers they could not enter his house unless they had a warrant. At that point, Castronovo requested a supervisor at the scene.

Meanwhile, Johnston called Epperson on his cellphone and conducted their conversation via speakerphone for the officers to hear.

Johnston informed Epperson the police were at his residence and wanted to come inside but he did not know why.

The officers recognized the chief's voice.

Boone wrote in his report that the chief told Johnston: "Don't let them in the house and tell them to leave," and a supervisor would be sent to the house.

Johnston has since told the Register Star that the chief did not instruct him to tell the officers to leave.

Sgt. Eddie Torrance arrived, explained to Johnston why the officers needed to enter his home, and the officers verified the wellbeing of Johnston's son. No arrests were made.

"I reasonably believed Quincy or any other occupant in the residence could have been injured or need help," Boone wrote in his report, based on a string of circumstances, such as a report of sounds of fighting over the phone, an alleged "history of physical domestics," the front door being wide open, someone inside the house looking out the window at the officers but not immediately coming to the door, and "hostility" toward police acting in a caretaking manner.

A copy of the report detailing the matter was obtained and aired by veteran WNTA radio host Ken DeCoster.

The Register Star filed a Freedom of Information Act request for a copy of the report; the Police Department had not made one available as of Wednesday, but DeCoster shared his copy.

On Wednesday, union labor representative Doug Block said the three officers were questioned individually Nov. 7 by a shift commander about the events at the Johnston residence.

He said their accounts of the events were the same.

Union President Terry Peterson, who has had a contentious relationship with the chief, said officers have an obligation to investigate every welfare-check request and questioned why the chief told Johnston to not let the officers inside.

"For the chief of police to obstruct justice like that, that can't happen."

Epperson declined to comment on the matter Tuesday, referring all inquiries to HR Director Julia Scott-Valdez, who acknowledged the internal investigation.

Mayor Larry Morrissey could not be reached Wednesday for comment.

Meanwhile, union attorney Tim O'Neal is also gathering information.

"I have concerns about the three officers being called in and interrogated about what they wrote in their reports," he said. "If the chief was on the phone telling officers not to check on the well-being of someone, I have serious concerns about that."